If you’re using a mobile medical cart without Hot Swappable batteries, then you’ve likely noticed how your cart can slow you down. Between trying to find places to plug in your cart to charge or losing work because your laptop suddenly shuts down without notice, your workflow has probably been interrupted more times than you’d like to count.

With Hot Swap battery systems, you no longer have to worry about sudden power losses or searching a hallway for an electrical outlet. Instead, you can carry a fully charged backup battery with your cart, which will easily swap out with your used battery and keep you going for 6-10 more hours.

1. Creates a power flow system

Many hospitals or doctors’ offices find it easiest to create a power flow system using Hot Swap batteries. When a shift begins, nurses or doctors will put the two batteries onto their carts and go off on their rounds. When the first battery runs out in 6-10 hours, they quickly swap out the used battery for the fully charged one. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds.

As they pass by the nurse’s station or storage room, they stop off to place the used battery on a charger. This allows the used battery to power up while the nurse or doctor continues their rounds, confident that their point-of-care systems will continue to work as they complete their patients’ care for their shift.

Some medical carts will allow for the battery to be charged right from the cart when it’s plugged in at the end of a shift. This system works particularly well for doctor’s offices which close overnight, rather than 24-hour medical facilities such as hospitals.

2. Reduces data entry time and errors

A medical computer cart goes with a doctor or nurse wherever they go, meaning that providers have full access to a patient’s records, medical history, and test results at their fingertips while they are visiting with a patient. The doctor or nurse can enter vital information and narratives with the patient right in the room, reducing the amount of time they have to spend on data entry later on.

Studies show that without computers-on-wheels (COWs), nurses and doctors spend the majority of their shifts completing computer work and data entry tasks. With a COW, healthcare providers can enter data in real-time with their patients, reducing the number of errors later on when they sit down with a large stack of patient files to enter.

Having a COW in the room can also help doctors look up symptoms, show important information about a condition to a patient, and look up side effects or interactions of medications. This helps a doctor make a more informed decision about the course of treatments available to their patients so that treatment can be more successful, sooner.

3. Easy to maneuver

COWs with Hot Swap battery systems are now made from lightweight aluminum and stainless steel, with wheels that turn and flow smoothly over any flooring surface. The Hot Swap batteries are light, making the cart easy to push, turn, and pull anywhere.

The lightweight material and easy maneuverability mean your mobile medical cart can fit into the smallest of patient care rooms. You can easily move your cart from one floor to the other, through crowded hallways and chaotic scenes.

4. Increases patient satisfaction

When doctors and nurses no longer have to leave the room to retrieve test results, call in referrals, or look up information, they can spend more quality time with their patients. A Hot Swap battery system allows doctors and nurses to spend time with their patients without worrying about where to plug their cart in next, or if the system will power down when they’re in the middle of consulting with a patient.

The more quality time a patient has with a healthcare provider, the happier they are with their overall experience. They feel heard and validated in their medical concerns.

Please call Scott-Clark Medical on 1-512-756-7300, or complete our online contact form to learn how this technology can benefit your hospital or medical clinic.

Lisa is a professional writer who enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. She has degrees in English and Secondary Education and has been writing professionally in the medical niche for the last three years, including pieces on dentistry and health and fitness. Her interest in the medical field began with her mother’s job as a dental nurse, and she has continued to nurture her interest in learning extensively about the diagnosis and treatment of a range of conditions.